Video Infoblog: U.S. Hypocrisy Laid Bare as Biden Admin Claims ICC Can’t Prosecute Israel for War Crimes
Transcript
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this is democracy now democracynow.org
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I'm Amy Goodman with Juan Gonzalez
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prosecutors from the international
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criminal court have interviewed staff
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from gaza's two biggest hospitals
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according to Reuters and what's being
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described as the first confirmation that
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ICC investigators are speaking to Medics
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about possible war crimes committed by
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Israel and Gaza Palestinian officials
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have demanded investigations after
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hundreds of bodies were exhumed in Mass
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Graves at Nasa and shifa Hospital
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following Israeli raids on the medical
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centers on Tuesday Israeli Prime
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Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to
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news the ICC may be close to issuing
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arrest warrants for him and other
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Israeli
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officials the international criminal
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court in the he is contemplating issuing
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arrest warrants against senior Israeli
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government and military officials as war
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criminals this would be an outrage of
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historic proportions this comes as the
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international court of justice has
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rejected a request by Nicaragua to order
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Germany to Halt exporting arms to Israel
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but the icj declined to throw the case
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out entirely Nicaragua is Accused
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Germany of violating the genocide
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convention by providing military and
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financial aid to Israel for more we go
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to Reed Brody a war crimes prosecutor
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author of te cat a dictator the pursuit
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and trial of hin habre he's joining us
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from Barcelona Spain Reed can you first
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talk about this possibility that uh
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prime minister Netanyahu and others may
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be charged by the international criminal
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court and the US saying that the
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international criminal court doesn't
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have the jurisdiction to do
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this well of course this would be huge
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Amy the international criminal court has
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never issued an arrest warrant for a
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western official indeed since norenberg
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no International tribunal has issued an
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arrest warrant for a western official
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for for decades we've had this double
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standard where International justice has
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only been effective for crimes committed
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by leaders of developing countries or or
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by enemies of the US like like Vladimir
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Putin um we don't know if if if this is
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true but this would be a huge red line I
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mean there's you know the Palestinians
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have been and Raji serani has been on
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your show a number of times have been
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fighting for 15 years to bring the icc's
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attention to alleged Israeli war crimes
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it back in
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including illegal settlements in the
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West Bank and the ICC under three
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successive prosecutors has given this
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slow walk um to those complaints and it
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was always assumed that this prosecutor
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Kareem Khan a British barister who came
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in with American Support uh would was
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very reticent would never actually cross
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that red line and indict an Israeli
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official but I think the overwhelming
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evidence of atrocities the the
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disproportionate attacks the
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indiscriminate attacks the collective
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punishment of the people of Gaza the
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international condemnation um and
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frankly also the genocide case brought
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by South Africa at the other court in
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the ha the icj that resulted in a ruling
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by the icj essentially that Israel had a
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case to answer these have all made it
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untenable now for the IC not to act now
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of course the US position
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as you've said is that the ICC does not
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have jurisdiction because Israel has not
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ratified the ICC treaty this is the
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historic position that the US argued 25
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years ago when we were drafting the ICC
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Statute in Rome but the US was
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overwhelmingly outvoted and the ICC has
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jurisdiction over Nationals of countries
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that have ratified so-called State
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parties but also it has jurisdiction
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over crimes committed on the territory
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of states that have given authorization
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and so uh you know when but but we saw
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uh under uh the previous ICC prosecutor
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when when she opened investigations into
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Afghanistan that potentially implicated
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American uh war crimes when she finally
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opened an investigation into Israel
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Palestine that the Trump Administration
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sanctioned the IC for its tarity in
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investigating
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uh act by by officials of non-state
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parties and even when those um uh
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sanctions were lifted by the Biden
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Administration the US said we don't
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believe the ICC has jurisdiction over
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Nationals of non-state parties but then
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Russia invaded Ukraine and Russia began
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committing massive war crimes and then
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when the ICC be and of course Russia is
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also a non-state party and when the ICC
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began to invest tigate Russia and issued
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an arrest warrant for for Vladimir Putin
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the US celebrated that um so it's now
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for the us to go back and say well we we
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we we we loved it when you did it with
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Putin but we think you're crossing a red
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line when you do it with Israel of
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course that's just
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hypocrisy uh Reed I wanted to ask you
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one of the Israeli officials who spoke
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to the New York Times said that the
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possibility of the Court issuing arrest
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warrants has been guiding Israeli
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decision making in recent weeks uh
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what's the significance of
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this well it shows actually that Israel
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is worried about this um obviously they
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can't undo crimes uh that have already
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been committed but many people say well
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you know what's the big deal I mean
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Netanyahu I mean in fact the ICC in 20
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years has never actually got its hands
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on prosecuted and convicted any state
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official anywhere but the fact is that
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if the IC issues this arrest warrant as
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and and the Furious diplomatic
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maneuvering that's going on suggesting
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suggest that it may be imminent of
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course it represents first of all a
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profound moral rebuke uh for it for for
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Israeli actions it makes it impossible
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for people to say uh that Israel's
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actions uh comport with the law um it
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also means that Benjamin Netanyahu uh
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could never if if he's one of the people
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indicted could never travel to an ICC
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State party for the rest of his life he
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could never go to Europe um but it also
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you know it also suggests that
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ultimately any Israeli official involved
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in these kinds of activities down the
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line could potentially also uh be be
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subject to an ICC uh investigation
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indictment so it really hopefully uh
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would have not only a protective effect
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on the past but a dissuasive effect
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effect on on Israel's actions in the
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future Reed Brody I wanted to ask you um
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about what's coming up this summer you
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we're speaking to you in Barcelona you
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know of course Colombia uh just uh
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allowed police to raid the campus
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hundreds of students have been arrested
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we're moving into yet another Chicago
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Democratic Convention you wrote your
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college thesis on uh choosing what
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happens when uh a presidential candidate
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um um um drops out uh at the last minute
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and what that means can you make some
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parallels from 68 to
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today well sure I mean in 1968 we saw
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that the Democrats in Chicago nominated
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yubert Humphrey um who is Lyndon
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Johnson's vice president and a proar
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candidate even though he had never won
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any presidential primary even though
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Robert F Kennedy before he was
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assassinated Eugene McCarthy had Ed all
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the votes and so you had this massive
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protest uh against a Democratic
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candidate who was pursuing a very imp
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poopular war and so the whole primary uh
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the whole Democratic selection process
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was was renovated uh and so that you now
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have primaries that and caucuses that
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result in pledged delegates uh the
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unfortunate for the moment uh result of
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that is that Joe Biden uh has now
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accumulated
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uh enough pledged delegates um to the
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Democratic Convention so that no matter
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how unpopular he is among Democrats no
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matter how uh unpopular he is as a
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candidate um he has enough delegates um
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to to secure the nomination the only way
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that he can really um be removed as a
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Democratic candidate um is if he were to
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step down uh in which case all of the
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delegates who are pledged to vote for
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him on the first ballot um would then be
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released and you'd have uh other
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candidates who could step
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in well we're going to leave it there um
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but I want to thank you for being with
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us Reed Brody is a war crimes prosecutor
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and author of to catch a dictator the
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pursuit and trial of H H we're going to
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continue the conversation and post
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online at democracynow.org and also talk
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about the icj decision the international
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court of justice um I'm Amy Goodman with
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Juan Gonzalez democracy Now is produced
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with Mike Burke Renee Fels Dina guzer
9:31
Tru [ __ ] kadus Messiah rhods ning Shake
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Maria terasa Tammy waren Jina nadura Sam
9:36
alov tamaria John Hamilton Robbie Karen
9:39
hany massud Hannah elas our executive
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directors Julie Crosby special thanks to
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Becca staly John Randolph Paul Powell
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Mike defilippo Miguel Nera Hugh Gran
9:48
Dennis moan David prud Dennis McCormack
9:50
Matt elely Anna Ock our website is
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democracynow.org you can get our
9:56
podcasts there thank you so much for
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joining us
